


Disturbing the Peace

by Dynamic_Ideation



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Banter, F/M, Hate to Love, Humor, Meet-Cute, Snark, or maybe meet-ugly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-27
Updated: 2017-07-11
Packaged: 2018-09-26 15:33:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9908897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dynamic_Ideation/pseuds/Dynamic_Ideation
Summary: Straight-laced, no-nonsense Officer Bennett keeps getting called out for ridiculous one-man protests, and that one man is Kai Parker.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I swear, TVD and their ship baiting BS will be the death of me. As long as I'm still alive, enjoy! :D

“This is dispatch to Unit 2643 Officer Bennett.”

“Bennett here.”

“Bennett, can you respond to a 10-23 in progress? He’s in front of the county courthouse.”  Disturbing the peace.

“Dispatch, what are we dealing with here?”

“Sounds like a protest march.”

“Other units en route?”

“From what I understand, you won’t need more than yourself.”

Strange. “Unit 2643 responding.”

“10-4.”

Bonnie pulled up in front of the courthouse with no idea what to expect. It was one guy, with a cheap sign, yelling and walking a wide circle. Bonnie stepped out and slid her aviators off. If she didn’t know any better, she would have thought she was watching one fool demand they put cheetos in the courthouse vending machines.

Unreal.

She squared her shoulders and strode toward him. “Sir. Can I talk to you for a second?”

One thing became clear as she got closer; he was really tall. “Sir.” 

Finally, he turned around and looked at her. He took one look at her and broke into a massive smile. It was beautiful, if a little cheeky and manic. It was like the sun had just come out from behind the clouds. Hot damn, he was fine.

“How are you today, Officer?” He spun on his heel and kept marching, waving his stupid sign.

Bonnie followed next to him.

“I’d be better if you’d put an end to your display here and move along.”

“I’m peacefully protesting. It’s within my rights as a Mystic Falls citizen.” He did an about face and she turned with him, already irritated. 

“You’re protesting over Cheetos. Cheetos do not fall into any of the protected groups under the Civil RIGHTS Act of 1965, or even anything human, or animal, or even plant life. Therefore, you are disturbing the peace.”

“I have to stand up for what I believe in. You’re gonna have to arrest me.”

“Alrighty then. You’re under arrest.” Bonnie drew out her handcuffs. He looked her up and down in a slow, salacious way. Then he grinned at her, and it was so sly she knew she was fucked, in more ways than one. He took off running.

He shouted over his shoulder, “Cheetos are really good, Officer Bennett! The people of the courthouse deserve better!” 

Bonnie shot off like a track star. “Sir, do not run. Sir. Do not resist arrest!” She didn’t have time to wonder how he knew her name. He made her chase him. Bonnie was quicker than she looked, on account of being tiny and agile. She also was in better running shape; she hadn’t passed the academy test with flying colors because of her looks. Problem was, every time she got close the man would dodge or turn, making it into a game of keep-away. Bonnie could feel her face turning red. Anybody watching would be in stitches. Bonnie hated to be embarrassed on the job, even if the perp was perfect and tall and beautiful and had an ass that wouldn’t quit that she wanted to bite as she watched it run from her.

“Sir, if you don’t stop immediately, I’ll be forced to use other methods to apprehend you.”

He froze. He turned to her again, still with that stupid, sexy smile on his stupid, sexy face. 

“Other methods?” he panted, waggling his eyebrows.

Bonnie glared at him. She pulled her baton out and flicked it out, extending it in one smooth move.

“Uh oh,” the guy said, but the look in his eye was anything but worried. Bonnie could see the moment he decided to bolt. She didn’t hit him with it, but she did catch his leg as he was pushing off and tripped him. The moment he stumbled she tackled him, knocking the air out of hi s lungs with a loud “oomf”. The second he was on the ground Bonnie straddled his back. It was a broad, rock-hard, sexy back. 

“You have the right to remain silent.” She mirandized him as she slapped handcuffs on him, trying not to admire his well-muscled forearms and big hands. She hauled him upright, none too gentle. 

“The way you’re handling me right now, I don’t know how I could stay quiet.” It was so _dirty_ Bonnie had to suppress a shiver while she gritted her teeth against the anger. 

“I don’t like being made a fool of.” She slammed him against the car. He huffed as his stomach hit the turn and he folded over. 

“That was never my intention, Officer Bennett. In _that_ uniform, I can’t help but take you seriously.”

“Are you _flirting_ with me, Sir?”

“That depends. Do you like it?”

Her knee in his ass as she shoved him in he squad should have answered the question for him, even if she wasn’t completely sure herself. 

“Malachai James Parker, twenty-nine years old, Mystic Falls citizen. Says he has a couple low-level priors, including a juvey record which is sealed up good. Nothing to hold him on. It would be a waste of resources.” Bonnie rolled her eyes. Not a surprise. Sometimes they just arrested annoying but ultimately harmless idiots. Now she had a name to put to his sickening, gorgeous face. 

She sent him on his way. 

“It’s your lucky night, Parker.”

“Yes, ma’am, it most certainly is,” He agreed with a wink.

“Get out of my sight,” she growled. 

“Thanks for a lovely evening, Officer Bennett.” He folded one arm in front of his presumably perfect abs and the other behind his back and bowed. Bonnie sneered at him, watching until he was well out of the station and into an Uber. 

“Why do I get the feeling this is all fun and games to him?” She asked herself.

 

A week later there was another, very familiar-sounding call on her radio. She didn’t think much of it until she heard the location; the courthouse. 

“Officer Bennett, can you respond?”

“I’m on it, Dispatch.”

Bonnie’s blood boiled when she saw who she was dealing with.

“Not again.”

Bonnie slammed her door, already fully fed up. This time he was protesting about the lone llama at the Mystic Falls petting zoo. According to Malachi Parker, it needed a friend. According to Malachi Parker, it was his job to lobby the courthouse on the llama’s behalf. The fool even had a t-shirt, for Christ’s sake. 

“Mr. Parker.”

“Well if it isn’t the lovely Officer Bennett. We meet again.” Bonnie could swear his eyes pierced right through her uniform, slipping beneath it like fingertips peeling back the straps of her bra. 

_You are an officer of the law. You will not let this cocky asshole manipulate you._

“I think you know why I’m here.”

“Because there’s a new Thai place that opened down the street and you want to take me? Honestly, officer. Im a gentleman, it would be my treat.”

Bonnie stomped up to him, snapping, “Do not make me run again, Parker. I won’t go gentle on you this time.” He gazed at her from beneath lowered lids, sucked his beautiful bottom lip into his mouth. He bit it, and when he smiled it was shiny. 

All it took was one stride to invade her space. All it took was the drop in tone when he said, “Last time was gentle? I’m curious. I want to see what rough looks like.” She felt that one. All the way down her spine, until the heat pooled between her thighs. Enough. She was so hopped up on adrenaline, anger and lust that snatching his new sign and throwing it down seemed the most logical step, just to get some of the energy out. 

“But what about the llama?”

“You have some nerve sounding like you care about it.” Bonnie yanked him around, pulling his arms behind his back. 

“Him. The llama is a he. He needs a girlfriend. He’s not the only one.” She handcuffed him and slammed him against the squad car, same as before. 

“Wait, wait, wait.” He turned, and faster than Bonnie could follow reached behind her ear and pulled away a red rose, stem cut short like a corsage. 

“For milady.”

“Do stupid magic tricks really work for you?”

“I don’t know, this is my first time trying it.” The corner of his mouth lifted into a half-smirk.

“It’s not even real.” She said as she shoved him into her back seat.

“But did you like it?”

She did, in a corny, ass-backwards kind of way. Smug bastard.

“Wipe that filthy smirk off your face.”

“Yes. ma’am.” He sounded amused. And teasing. There was definitely teasing there. 

“Is this turning you on? This better not be turning you on.”

“Yes, I mean, no ma’am.” but clearly it was. Problem was, it was turning her on, too. Feeling his hard body up against hers…Bonnie opened the door and shoved him in.

“Get your ass in the car.” 

Bonnie pointedly ignored the way Malachai Parker’s eyes pierced hers through the rearview mirror as she took him in.

 

Once again, they let him go.

_Would nothing stick for this guy?_ “Not even a resisting arrest?”

“Did he resist this time?” Her Captain asked. Bonnie fumed silently. He’d sung bad eighties love ballads in the backseat until she banged her baton against the separation grate, but that was it. Damn him for coming along _mostly_ quietly. “Chief says we gotta let him go. My hands are tied on this, Bennett. I’m sorry.”

That night, Bonnie’s law enforcement background-and curiosity- got the best of her. Sitting in her comfy chair with a blanket and a glass of cabernet, it was nothing to find him on LinkedIn. 

“A stockbroker? Jesus Christ. No wonder he's so slimy.” His list of career accomplishments and education was impressive, though. Nothing but expensive, exclusive private schools all the way through undergrad. He held a middle-management position at a prestigious firm, where he handled hundreds of millions of dollars. It was very rich-privileged-white-guy. 

His picture, she hated to admit, was mouth watering. It was a professionally done photograph, and boy could that man work a camera. He was in an expensive navy suit, perfectly tailored to those broad shoulders, with a pressed white button up and spun-gold tie. He was looking out at his profile viewers like he was undressing them. Bonnie suppressed a shiver at the thought.

“He’s probably a damned sociopath,” She muttered.

She found him on Facebook under “Cobra Kai Parker”. That made her roll her eyes so hard it hurt. His background picture was him in swim trunks with his arms around several bikini-clad beauties of different shapes, sizes, and colors. 

“Bastard.”

Who were those bimbos? Not that she was jealous that they were touching him, or anything. Not that she wanted them far the hell away from him. Never that. 

He was hot, hot, hot. Everything under those clothes was what she had fantasized about and more. He was just as much the handsome devil in his profile picture. It was a candid, caught at the perfect moment, showing a genuine, joyful smile. It looked like it was taken right at the beginning of a belly laugh. Without all the innuendo and eye sex he looked like a regular person, which made that picture the most dangerous of all. Bonnie got so frustrated she slammed her laptop shut. She needed another glass of red and a cold shower. More than anything she needed him out of her head. 

 

“Dad, I’ve been having some trouble with this repeat perp, and it’s the strangest situation. He’s successful and seems to be leading a cushy life, but he keeps causing trouble with stupid one-man protests and the chief keeps telling me to let him go, scott-free.” Bonnie was sitting in her dad’s office. 

“What his name?”

“Malachi James Parker.” That got Mayor Bennett’s attention.

“Kai Parker? The Parker kid?”

“You know him?” Bonnie sat forward in her chair. Her dad sat back and groaned.

“He’s the governor’s kid.” The _governor’s_ kid. Why hadn’t she made the damn connection?

“So, what, you’re telling me he’s untouchable?” 

Mayor Bennett sighed. “He’s the classic privileged golden boy, sweetheart. There isn’t much his daddy’s money and power couldn’t get him out of. There’s not much he can’t have or do if he wants it. He likes to party, he likes the ladies, so on and so forth.” Bonnie wrinkled her nose at “likes the ladies.” She knew all about that. 

“I heard he’s excellent at his job-“

“I’m sure he excels at conning people.” She said wryly.

“He knows what he can get away with, Bonnie. It could conceivably be murder, but with all this slap-on-the-wrist stuff, my hands are beyond tied.”

“Dad-“

“Bonnie, you know how this works.”

“Politics.” She threw her hands up in frustration. Kai Parker was turning out to be everything she couldn’t stand. Filthy rich and a playboy, with a cushy job and flying high above the law thanks to his dad’s money and power. His rap sheet was certainly not clean. No respect for the law? Absolutely not. He was so far under her skin that she itched. 

All the more reason for Bonnie to stay away from him. 

 

The third time she got the call from dispatch, almost exactly a week later, Bonnie already knew who it was.

“I’m gonna shoot him. Right in that pretty ass.”

She climbed out of the car and approached him, hand already on her baton. 

“What is it today? Not enough golden girls on Nick at Nite?”

“The Golden Girls doesn’t even come on Nick at Nite, so the joke’s on you. Actually, today it’s rip-off arcade games. How come I’ve never been able to beat _any_ version Mortal Kombat? If I can beat Pac-Man, Big Game Hunter, and Dance Dance Revolution, I should be able to beat Mortal Kombat. There ought to be a law.” He turned toward the building and raised his voice. “You hear that? There ought to be a law!”

“I’m getting tired of this little game, Parker.”

“How else can I get you to put your hands all over me?” He was starting already. She ignored him. He held his hands out and let her cuff him, no resistance, no arguing, nothing. Just a big dumb grin. Bonnie led him to the car, her hand burning where it rested on the exposed skin of his wrist. 

He hummed happily to himself as she put him in the car, her hands digging in his hair when she guided him into the backseat. She imagined her fingers there for an entirely different reason. _Keep it professional, Bennett._

The humming turned into quiet singing under his breath; “All she wants me to do is fuck the police-“

“What did you say?”

“Uh, nothing, I didn’t say anything.”

“Is this a joke to you?”

What? No. I didn’t say anything. I’m being a good boy.” If she wasn’t mistaken, his expression was a sheepish one. 

Bonnie undid the handcuffs. “You know what? I’m not gonna throw you up against my car anymore or haul you in again. I know who you are, and I know your type. All you want is an audience, and I’m not gonna keep being that for you. You’re wasting my damn time and the taxpayers’ dollars. Enough.” His face fell as she pulled him out of her squad car, then she climbed in the driver’s seat.

“Officer Bennett, wait-“

“Go home, Mr. Parker.” She drove off without another word. 

 

No sooner had she set foot in the door the next morning were her coworkers harassing her.

“There’s the lucky lady.” Caroline at the front desk winked as Bonnie badged in. 

“Way to charm the snake, Bennett.” Officer Salvatore the younger ribbed her as she grabbed bitter coffee and a danish. 

“Do you know how many women would kill to be in your shoes right now? You poor unfortunately soul.” That was Officer Salvatore the elder behind her, always eager to give her a hard time. His desk was close to hers, so they traded insults and desserts often.

“Salvatore, what the heck is everybody talking about?” She asked. He just inclined his head towards her desk where several ornate bouquets of flowers rested. 

“Where the hell did that come from?”

“Take a wild guess.”

Bonnie mouth dropped open when she realized. “No.”

 

“Talk about overkill.” It was garish and overly done, but still, no one had ever sent her flowers before. To send them to her job where everyone could see them… it was obnoxious and it put all her business on the street. It was so terribly romantic she just couldn’t stand it. So many beautiful bouquets, so many different arrangements in so many different colors. Her face heated up as she plucked the delicate white card from the foremost bouquet of white lilies and blush pink roses. 

 

“Officer Bennett- 

Please accept my apologies, these bouquets and a 

$5,000 donation to the Mystic Falls PD Charity or the charity of your choice.

-MJP” 

 

Inside was a check all written out, simply waiting for an addressee. 

“Fucking look at this, Salvatore.” Damon took it from her hands, read it over, and whistled. 

“Looks like somebody’s got it bad. What did you do to the man? Got any tricks you wanna share?”

The other Salvatore had been reading over his shoulder. “He’s got money to throw around, why not put it to good use?” Stefan said.

“ Yeah, good use. I need a new squad car, Bennett. how bout it?”

“Shut up.” She snatched the card back as Damon laughed and Stefan gave her the “sorry my brother’s an ass” look that he so often wore.  

“Bennett. My office, now.” It was Chief Forbes. She sighed and sat, ready to get reamed out.

“Please explain to me what all these ridiculous flowers are doing in my building.” She couldn’t be sure, but it seemed there was a twinkle in the chief’s eye.

“It’s that perp, Parker. I told him off and refused to arrest him, and now he wants to have a conscious, I suppose.” She rolled her eyes for probably the millionth time because of him.

“Isn’t it obvious, officer?” Bonnie raised an eyebrow. “He has a crush.”

“On who?”

“Oh my God.” She rolled her whole head. “Do you think it’s a coincidence that the man keeps up these protests on your route, on your shifts?”

Horror. That’s what Bonnie felt, all over her body. That and…something else. The same thing that made heat build in the center of her chest when she read his note and saw his body, and remembered how it felt to pin him to her squad. 

“You gotta admit, it’s sorta romantic.”

“I’m gonna put a stop to this, once and for all.”

“You’re gonna put a stop to it, huh?” Chief Forbes sat back in her chair, looking like the cat who ate the canary.

“Please don’t give me that skeptical look, Chief.” 

“Ooooookay,” the chief replied, her voice saying she didn’t believe a word. 

The moment Bonnie’s shift was up, she changed into her civvies and she grabbed her purse, already on the war path. 

She stormed into the big, fancy financial building in plain clothes, flashing her badge. She felt underdressed and somewhat intimidated, seeing all those powerful people in Armani suits when all she wore was a distressed white v-neck tee and a pair of boot cut jeans.

“Malachai Parker. Where is he?” The surprised man just pointed. His cough seemed to cover a chuckle. Like he knew something she didn’t know. Bonnie side-eyed him but kept right on marching. There he was, stepping out of a huge corner office-his?-yammering on his iPhone. Probably ordering 5 million shares of Bullshit Corp.

When he saw her he did a double take.

“Wow.” The way he stared at her, as if she’d taken his breath away, made her feel something other than animal lust this time. Could she really have done that, little old police officer Bennett, in nothing but jeans and a t-shirt? Could he really have actual feelings for her? He looked at her like she held a piece of his heart. 

She pushed through. If she thought about it too much she’d want to believe it, and she’d lose the head of steam she’d been building. She waved her badge at him like a battle flag.

“Aw, c’mon, not at my job.” He smirked in the Kai way she’d come to know and loathe.

“Tell me the truth. Are you doing all this to get _my_ attention?”

“What do you mean, Bon-“

“Don’t call me that, we’re not friends. Do you have a-“ she spit the word out like it tasted disgusting- “ _crush_ on me?”

The silence that followed was so tense it was comical. The entire office seemed to slow down, grow quiet around them. All eyes were on them. Kai folded his hands behind his back and dropped his chin, worrying at that luscious lower lip with his teeth. _He can’t be feeling bashful. That can’t be what I’m seeing._

“So, I came to my little nephew’s school for career day a few weeks ago, trying to live up to my favorite-uncle status, you know? So there I was, sitting with him in the back corner of the class, drinking one of his juice boxes-”

“You’re unbelievable.” She shook her head and giggled, just a little. She couldn’t help it.

“You went right before me. I saw you doing D.A.R.E. I mean I obviously thought you were hot but you also were great with the kids and I could tell you were passionate about your job. As a bonus, I learned an awful lot about saying no to drugs. The rest is history.” He shrugged, trying to play it nonchalant. Damn him, why did he have such a charming story?

“Did it ever occur to you that maybe you should talk to me, like a human being?”

“Look at me, Bonnie. Do I look like somebody who has well-developed social skills? Besides, if you knew who I was, would you have given me a chance?” He was right. One word about his reputation, one look at his rap sheet, and that would have been it. 

“Hell no. And I’m not giving you one now.” He gave her big, round puppy-dog eyes and she deflated like a day-old balloon. Bonnie sighed. She couldn’t stay mad at him.

“One date. One date to prove I’m not all the things people say about me. Most of them, yes. But not all. Please?” He poked out a pouty bottom lip and it was just so damn cute there was nothing Bonnie could do about it. 

“And you’ll stop making me come out for bogus calls?”

“Scout’s honor.”

She stuck out her hip and crossed her arms, doing her own kind of pout. Kai Parker had charmed her, in his own depraved way. For possibly the first time, her lips curled up at the corners and she smiled at him. “Fine.”

“Yeah?”

“I said yeah, don’t make me change my mind.”

“She’s going on a date with me. Officer Sexy’s going on a date with me!” To say he was projecting his voice was an understatement. His staff shook their heads and chuckled. Bonnie got the feeling they were all used to his antics by now. 

“You should all know how desperate I am to make the protests stop- Ah!” She shrieked as he wrapped his arms around her thighs, picked her up, and spun her around. Bonnie laughed then, caught up in the first totally carefree moment she’d experienced in a long time. Being held by him like this, it felt right.

“So nobody’s gonna clap? This is tv-worthy, people.” One of them did. Another did a sarcastic slow clap and yet another flipped him off. Bonnie giggled again. She got the feeling they antagonized him just as much as he antagonized, well, everybody he met.

A woman shuffled by, an amused look on her face. “Thank God. He wouldn’t shut up about you.” Bonnie tried to cover her embarrassed smile with her tiny hand.

“One date, Mr. Parker. And it better be a hell of a good one.”

Kai gently took the hand that covered her smile and kissed it. The tingling on her skin made her smile even bigger. 

“One date. It’ll be the best. It’ll be the _first,_ Officer Bennett.”

 


	2. Disaster date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kai takes Bonnie out on that date she agreed to. Things go just as crazy as one would expect with Kai Parker.

“When you told me to get dressed up, I thought it was because you wanted to impress me with surf and turf.” She stood there in a blue halter gown (with a drop waste to show off her figure, of course), strappy heels, makeup and hair fully done as she stared up at a massive rollercoaster.

“I’m impressing you, right?” He held his arms out as if to say “ta-da!” and Bonnie took Kai in. He certainly looked impressive, decked out in a midnight-black tailored suit with a crisp white button-down underneath (the top button undone to show he how much of a sexy rogue he was) and expensive leather dress shoes polished to a high shine. As much as she loved the view, his outfit wasn’t the problem. Their location was. 

“Parker, why are we at a theme park?” 

“I wanted to do something unique. Bet you’ve never been on a date here before.”

“I haven’t been here since _junior high_. I _hate_ rollercoasters.” The last time she was on one she’d thrown up all over herself and been given the nickname “Blow-Chunks Bonnie” until she escaped to high school, but there was no reason for him to know that. 

“It’s gonna be fun.” There was that mischievous twinkle in his eye, the one that was destined to get her into trouble. Not this time.

“I’m not getting on that thing. Especially not dressed like this.”

“I’ll be with you the entire time. You’ll be completely safe.”

At the exact moment the coaster flew by, some unlucky rider screaming, “I’m gonna diiiiiieeeeeee!” Bonnie made a deadpan face at him. 

“Listen. You’re a serious, hardworking, upstanding police officer by day. When was the last time you got to be Party Bonnie by night? You’re already here. You look like a million dollars and you only live once. Let’s have some fun.”

He gave her that sexy smirk and damn it, turned out she couldn’t resist it after all. She could see it becoming a big problem in the future. If there _was_ one after all this.

The moment she was locked in her seat, Bonnie knew she’d made a grave mistake.

“I need to get off.”

“It’s too late,” Kai seemed nothing but amused. 

“Parker, seriously, I need off this ride. Isn’t there a release or something?” She tried to turn and shout over her shoulder, but she was stuck in place. “Hey! I need to get off! Please don’t-“ the ride coasted forward, “-start the ride. Oh God.”

Her breathing intensified and her stomach began to roil as they approached the top of the first drop. The clack-clack-clack of the heavy machinery rattled her to her bones. _I’m gonna have a panic attack then become Blow-Chunks Bonnie all over again. Then I’m gonna die._

“Hey. Look at me,” Kai said, his voice strong and solid over the clatter of the gears. Bonnie dared a glance at him. He held her eyes, his face as relaxed and as cool as if they were walking through a park. For a moment she forgot she was about to drop out of the sky. The anxiety, the nausea was gone. The drop was still there though, and it was still intense. The spell broken, all she could do was cling to the handholds and scream. Kai, of course laughed maniacally the entire time. 

“You’re doing great, Bon!” He reached over and took her hand. She clutched it and a thrill ran through her, caused by more than just the adrenaline of being on the rollercoaster. Bonnie kept screaming, and before she knew it she was screaming to let out pent-up anxiety as much as fear. She felt liberated, for the first time in a long time. It was _fun_. She let go of Kai’s hand to throw hers up in the air. The wind whipped her hair into her face, and the rollercoaster raced through a series of daring loops, and for two and a half minutes Bonnie felt totally free. 

Back on solid ground, Bonnie wobbled in her tall heels. Kai wrapped an arm around her to steady her. 

“Look at you go. Conquering your fears and even having fun. I knew you could do it, Officer Bennett.” His arm thrown casually around her shoulders made her bashful. Strangely, she felt protected. Even as a cop, it was a good feeling to have. 

“Oh my God. My hair.” She tried to comb it down, tame the flyaways and retwist the barrel curls. Kai brushed a few locks away from her face. He tucked them gently behind her ear. 

“I like it wild anyway.” He smiled softly. She blushed. Then she looked over at the picture stand. 

She had a fit when she saw the picture captured in the tunnel. Kai’s face was openly joyful; hers was twisted in terror and her hair was pasted to her face and in her mouth, making her look something like Cousin It. By the time she’d gotten done staring in mortification, Kai came back looking awfully smug. He’d bought the photo twice over and had keychains made out of them. 

“Look what I got!”

“Noooooooo!”

“This is the best picture we’ve ever taken, Bon. We have to commemorate the occasion.”

“It’s the _only_ picture we’ve ever taken, Parker, and I look like a demon! I forbid you from keeping it!”

“I love it, though. It’s so _us_.”

“Burn it, Kai! Burn it!” She tried to snatch it out of his hands, but all he had to do was hold it over his head and she was hopping up and down on heels that only put her at five-seven to his six one. 

“I give up. Give me one of those.” She snatched it out of his hand and tucked it into her clutch. Her reward was funnel cakes and watching Kai knock over milk bottles with a baseball and win her a stuffed bear. 

“What are you gonna name him?”

“I’m not gonna name him, don’t be ridiculous,” she said as she tried not to show how tightly she clung to her new adorable, downy-soft toy won by her stupid, handsome date. Maybe she’d call him Parker. Kai never had to know. 

Walking around dressed up the way they were earned them lots of curious looks. It made Bonnie squirm, until she saw how Kai soaked it up. He smiled his seductive smile and waved and nodded at everyone, as if he was walking a runway. Soon Bonnie was in on the act. They even did an impromptu photoshoot for a couple who wanted to take pictures. It was silly, and it was crazy fun. 

“Here’s my card, my man, make sure I get those pictures!” Bonnie saw Kai slip a bill into his hand.

The guy smiled big. “You got it, bro.” She didn’t know how much, but she was excited to see the pictures herself.

Kai looked to her. “Hungry?”

“Famished.”

 

_Now this is more like it. I’m glad he brought us somewhere grown up tonight,_ Bonnie thought. The place was lavishly decorated with rich fabrics and low lighting. A little worn, but that wasn’t important. There was even a …stage? 

“Welcome to Nightvale Dinner Theater,” the host said. “Our show tonight is an original murder mystery starring the delightful Evan Norris. We’ll be underway in about thirty minutes.”

“Dinner theater, Parker?” She asked through gritted teeth. 

“What, you don’t like a little drama, Bonnie?” He winked and she rolled her eyes. The host showed them to their seat. 

Kai told their older, tired, but still friendly waiter; “It’s a special occasion. My wife and I are celebrating our anniversary. We’ve been married one whole year.”

Her eyes went wide and she started to argue… but there was something about being called his wife. Their one year anniversary. Imagine that. 

“Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs….”

“Parker.” He announced proudly, reaching for Bonnie’s hand over the table (conveniently covering her lack of a wedding ring) and making moon eyes at her.

“What a milestone! In that case, I think a nice dessert is in order to celebrate, on the house.” He shuffled away.

“Did you tell them we’re married to get sugary confections, Parker?”

“Yup.” He looked awfully proud of himself.

“For a man who earns a good living, you sure like to get over.”

“I just like to spice things up a little. Besides, I want people to think I’m married to you.”

Her body heated up at that thought. “Isn’t that a little premature?”

“I don’t know, is it?” He whispered, giving her that _look_.

Their waiter dropped off a big slice of chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream, not even bothering to wait until after the meal. “To Mr. and Mrs. Parker, on their one year anniversary, as a thanks for celebrating with us. May you kids enjoy many long years of happiness together.” Bonnie wanted to drop dead, just a little bit. 

“It has nice ring to it,” Kai said, tearing into the cake. “Bonnie Parker? Bonnie Bennett-Parker? It’s up to you, I guess.” Bonnie stuffed cake in her mouth to distract from thinking about how nice it sounded. 

The performance wasn’t half bad. It was corny, but funny and thrilling and she gasped at the big reveal. Things were going relatively normally, and she was having fun. Until.

“Betcha I can get out of paying this bill.”

“How exactly do you plan on doing that?”

Bonnie assumed he was joking and kept right on eating until she saw how still and dazed he became. She stopped with her fork halfway to her mouth, just as he began to shake. Bonnie’s eyes bugged out of her head as he kept shaking and shook himself right out of his seat and onto the ground. Gasps went up all around as other patrons’ meals ground to a halt. Bonnie dropped to the ground besides him.

“Kai?! Kai!” She yelled, trying to keep her cop head about her and not panic. He looked directly at her and fucking winked. _He really is getting out of our bill,_ she thought, outraged. 

“Mrs. Parker, what’s going on…?” The waiter, along with the owners, had come rushing out to see about the commotion. 

“Ruined…dinner. Sorry…” Kai wheezed melodramatically between fake spasms. Bonnie wanted to punch him.  

“There’s no cause for alarm everyone, my…husband, he’s just…having a seizure. He’s epileptic.”

“Okay…I’m okay,” he gasped out, making all the onlookers feel even worse with his false display of bravery. 

“How can we help?” They rushed forward as Kai convulsed on the ground.

“Oh no, don’t worry about it, it’s minor.” Kai kept convulsing. “I said it’s _minor_.” He slowed to a stop and gave a couple extra jerks for effect. “I’m a police officer. I know exactly what to do in cases of emergency, especially when it comes to my _husband_.” She crouched down and pretended to be administering first aid while Kai hammed it up, letting his head loll dramatically. Was he drooling? She was gonna scream.

“Are you okay, Honey?” Bonnie asked, the edge in her voice his signal to reanimate. He coughed and gasped and looked at her with big eyes. 

“Baby?”

“You’re fine, sweetheart, it was just one of your seizures. Let’s get you up and get you home.”

Other restaurant goers were so sweet and sympathetic about the fake health emergency. “What a horrible thing to have to deal with!”

“And on your anniversary, too?”

“I apologize for disturbing everyone’s meals. Please, don’t stop enjoying yourselves on my account.”

“Let us take care of your bill,” their waiter offered.  

“Oh no, there’s no need. After all, I disturbed all your guests.” _After all this, he argues against getting the meal paid for?!_

“Don’t worry about the bill. It’s on the house, we insist.”

“It means a lot, really, it does,” he said, sounding so humble and grateful he almost had Bonnie fooled. He turned to her. 

“Thank you for saving me. I’m so lucky to be married to you.” He cupped her face in his hands. Bonnie searched his face, shocked, and then he went and did it. He kissed her. It wasn’t just some peck on the lips, no. He parted her lips with his own and brushed their tongues together. Bonnie grabbed his wrist, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to snatch his hands away or encourage him to keep going and never stop. It turned out it was option number two and she felt herself respond to his kiss with fervor, and when she answered he deepened the kiss. It was a full on makeout session in front of the entire restaurant. 

When Kai finally let her go, her happily, lustfully dizzy. She heard threats being cleared and a few entertained chuckles. She blinked stupidly, waiting for her senses to come back online. 

The waiter, manager and owner all stood there stock still, faces flushed and twisting their fingers with embarrassment.

“We see you’ve got it all under control. All of it. Well, good night!” They got out of there quick, under the guise that they needed to see to their other guests. Bonnie barely even noticed, floating the way she was after that kiss. 

Kai hammed it up so much they even got a gift certificate for the next time they came back.

She ruled that out right away. “We will not be coming back.”  
“You mean they’ll never see Mr. and Mrs. Parker again, ever?”

“They might see Mr. Parker-“ she jerked her thumb at him-“ but they damn sure won’t see me.” When Kai wasn’t looking she put her fingertips to her lips. She could still feel the tingle of his kiss. 

 

The chain link fence was at least ten feet tall, and behind it stood an old office block from the fifties, crumbling and broken and gray. 

“What the hell is this now?”

“Our next stop on the best first date you’ve ever had.”

“That is literally a dilapidated old building that’s under construction.”

“You’re looking at it the wrong way. It’s a place full of adventure!”

“You’re even crazier than I thought, Parker!” 

“Come on Bonnie, or else someone will see!” At that moment a police cruiser turned onto the street a couple of blocks away. Kai held open a part of the fence with a hole in it. Bonnie cursed to herself and crawled through before her compatriots could see how completely illegal she was being. 

They hustled to the side of the building and huddled in the shadows until the cruiser had gone past. Kai waved her over to an entry into the building. It was a gross, broken, crumbling basement egress window. Kai made his way through first. 

“No way.”

“You've come this far. Live a little, beautiful.”

She crawled in, taking note of his strong hands around her waist. He lifted her to the ground and held her until she was steady on her feet. There was a moment she stared up at him and saw those intense eyes of his and thought about how he’d kissed her in the restaurant. A loud creak of weathered wood brought her back to her senses. 

“Come on.” He took her hand again, and she followed him up a set of rickety wooden stairs. 

“Say close”. The chill and the thrill made her plaster herself to his side. 

There was no roof; it was open to the moonlight, which filtered in and bathed them both in pale, watery light. There were other couples there, in various states of drunkenness, sporting purposely worn and dirty clothing and wild colors in their hair. 

Some were spraying graffiti on the walls. Inwardly, Police Officer Bennett counted the sheer number of infractions going on in here, but Party Bonnie looked on with thinly-veiled curiosity. 

A couple shrugged, handed them beers and tilted their own in cheers. Bonnie drank deep. The beer was cheap, but it was cold. It wasn’t long before she was buzzed and swaying, watching the graffiti artists leave their marks. 

Kai took up a can of gold spray paint and began to draw on a wall of crumbled white sheetrock. 

“Yours is too ugly to be up there.” She giggled.

“You can do better?” He smirked.

Someone handed her a can of sparkly purple spray paint. The wall didn’t look good by any stretch of the imagination, but it was hers. 

Maybe it was the buzz from the beer that prompted her to spray “ B.B. + K.P. = 4eva” It was stupid and juvenile and fun, especially when Kai stepped up behind her and painted a big pink heart around it. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders from behind and buried his face in her hair. His body was a wall of heat against the cold night, protection and danger all at once  and a tingling that just wouldn’t go away whenever they touched.

Others around them were already making out. She thought about the restaurant and turned her head over her shoulder to look at him, her eyes saying, “well, what are you gonna do?”

Kai leaned toward her, his lips brushing hers just barely in a whisper of a kiss. Bonnie’s eyes shuttered closed and she waited for his lips to meet hers and complete the circuit. 

She couldn’t see him, but she could feel him all around her and getting closer.

The “whoop” of a police siren cut through the crisp night air before he could get there.

Someone drunkenly yelled, “It’s the five-o! Run!” Panic broke out. Everyone scattered like roaches. 

Kai grabbed Bonnie’s hand and tugged her along behind him. They clattered down the stairs, back to window they’d come in through. Stumbling over the hem of her dress, she bunched it up in her hand and tried to keep up, squawking “I _am_ the five-o!” She couldn’t let them see her like this, though, so when Kai dropped down on one knee in front of the chain-link fence—they were nowhere near where they’d come through— and interlaced his fingers, she stepped onto them without hesitation. 

She wasn’t new to hopping fences, but this one was tall and she was short and the dress was fancy and the heels were pointy so it took a few more precious moments to clear it. 

She hit the ground running, literally, but she got jerked back; her dress was caught! “Shit!” She tugged on it and heard more than saw the rip. Still swearing, she watched Kai flip over and land on his ass in the dirt but it only took a second for him to recover and catch up to her…then blow right past her. 

She took off after him but couldn’t keep up.

“Kai, don’t leave me!”

“Just kidding.” Kai laughed through his heavy breaths. He slowed down and grasped her hand again and they ran side-by-side.

“We literally have zero reason to run. I am the law and you can’t get in trouble anyway!”

They hit a corner, then Bonnie pulled Kai to a stop right as the squad turned the corner. She ran into the street and flagged them down.

“Bon, what the hell are you doing?” He asked in a harsh whisper.

“Just follow my lead!”

She pulled her badge from her purse and held it out.

The cop rolled his window down and looked at her expectantly, never even guessing where they’d been a moment earlier. 

“Officer Bennett from Mystic Falls sixty-seventh precinct. A group of youths was vandalizing this building. I was in pursuit. They went that way.” Bonnie pointed in the exact opposite direction of where everyone had run. 

“I appreciate the backup, Officer Bennett. Sorry it interrupted your evening tonight.”

“No worries. It’s my duty.”

“Can I give you and your husband a ride anywhere?” There was that word again. She couldn't see Kai’s face, but she knew he was smiling from ear to ear. 

“We’d love one. Town hall. We’ve got an important event to attend.” That was Kai talking before she could say anything. Where was he taking her now? 

In the back of the squad car Kai put his arm around her and smiled at her slyly. “I see what you did there. I’m gonna corrupt you yet, Bonnie Bennett.” Bonnie shrugged one shoulder and smirked to herself. She leaned into him, and he snuggled in closer. 

 

_Of all the places he could have brought me, of all the places he_ has _brought me, why here?_ Everyone stared at them when they walked into the swanky party. Kai seemed nonplussed as per usual, but Bonnie couldn’t help but be self-conscious, especially because she knew what kind of looks they were getting. Disdain, snobby, holier-than-thou, I can’t believe how much better than you I am. Those kinds of looks. Out of all the embarrassing and uncomfortable situations he’d put her in tonight, this was without a doubt the worst. _I should have known as soon as he said “town hall” not to come with him here. I should have known better._

“Want a drink?”

“Absolutely.”

“Be right back.” She stood there, awkwardly, at the edge of the crowd, waiting for him. She wasn’t sure how to strike up a conversation with people who clearly didn’t believe she had any business in their collective presences. She could feel their eyes sweeping over her and deeming her unworthy. 

Yes she was a mayor’s daughter, but theirs was a tiny town and she was a patrol cop whose salary could barely keep her keep her Toyota Corolla on the road and Old Navy t-shirts on her back. 

She tried to smooth her ruined dress down, to press out a few wrinkles, to shoo away some dust. It only seemed to call more attention to how unkempt she looked and made her feel worse.

Kai returned with a glass of champagne not a moment too soon. Bonnie gratefully took the delicate flute from him and downed most of its contents in a big gulp.

“Impressive.”

She ignored him. “Why are we here?”

Kai rolled his eyes. “Boring social function. My dad mandated that I make an appearance. ’As the governor’s son you need to make an effort to welcome our guests and show that you know how to conduct yourself’ blah blah blah. A bunch of rich assholes getting together to talk about how rich they are.”

“Clearly.”

“Uncomfortable?”

“Is it that obvious?” She asked sarcastically.

Kai snorted. “Welcome to my world. Every second I have to spend in this cemetery is a second too long.”

“I’m uncomfortable in a different kind of way, Kai.” He wasn’t paying her any attention. _He has no idea what I’m talking about. He may not like it, but this is his world. It’s not mine and they're making it clear._

Kai put his hand to Bonnie’s arm and they made their way through, him offering a gaudy fake smile to everyone who fake-smiled at him. They said things to each other like “You’re looking well” and “always a pleasure” and they waved their hands, glittering with bracelets, and they brandished designer bags, and they clicked effortlessly over the floor in thousand dollar shoes. 

A young woman, around their age, stopped them. She looked like someone Kai might have dated. Someone he probably _should_ be dating. High society, model beauty, an air of being untouchable. 

She looked at Bonnie as if she was amused, like a cat with a mouse between its claws. It was amazing how small Bonnie felt, and she felt ashamed for letting this woman make her feel this way. 

“Well if it isn’t Mr. Malachai Parker. It’s so good to see you. How long has it been? We haven’t been in the same room since the party in the Maldives. You remember that night, don’t you?” Bonnie didn’t miss the suggestiveness in her voice. So he already had been with her. Kai ignored the question. 

“Vanessa, this is Bonnie, my date for this evening.” Kai’s smile was mocking, too, and it made Bonnie feel like she was being dangled in front of Vanessa just to piss her off, like a red cape in front of a bull. 

“Is that right.” It was more of a statement than a question. 

“Indeed it is,” Bonnie replied, with more confidence than she felt. 

“And what do you do, Miss Bonnie?” The mock was clear, but it seemed to go right over Kai’s head. 

“I’m a police officer.”

“Oh, like on CSI.” She chuckled.

“No, I’m not a detective. I’m a uniform. I walk a beat.”

“Well, I suppose someone’s got to keep the peace.” She tilted her chin back and laughed, her bonded teeth glinting and her expensive designer perfume wafting into the air. She was making Bonnie’s skin crawl, but Kai still seemed not to notice. He was growing bored instead of irritated, which was the response Bonnie was looking for. No sort of indignation or outrage on her behalf. Shouldn’t there be some? This was not okay.

“Ah, there’s Councilman Greggs. We’re going to say a quick hello to him. Great to see you, as always, Vanessa.” His words were hollow but Vanessa didn’t seem to notice.

“Don’t forget, my mother’s midsummer vineyard party is next month. Can I expect to see you and your father there?”

“You can count on it,” Kai replied absently. Neither woman said anything to the other. 

“We’re not going to that garbage,” He mumbled in Bonnie’s ear as he lead her away, towards Councilman Greggs. 

Had they not stopped for more champagne, Bonnie might have missed it. She also was feeling hypersensitive, so it was no surprise that she heard Vanessa’s words when she mumbled to some equally prissy companion who’d sidled up to her.              

“Can you believe what kind of street trash he brought in here?”

“Claims to be the cop but looks like the criminal. He always has to make a total mockery of himself. You think he’d learn to stop ‘rebelling’. I bet that poor girl has no idea how classless she looks.”

“Her, over you?”

“She’s just a plaything. He’ll be back.”

Bonnie’s stomach dropped. She had to get out of there, right then 

“Kai, where’s the restroom?”

“It’s there. You okay?”

“Fine.” She rushed to the bathroom as fast as she could without making it look like she was rushing. She was sure she did a shitty job and that Princess Vanessa was watching her retreat and laughing an evil villainess laugh. 

When she saw herself in the mirror she nearly broke down in tears. The rip in her beautiful dress was worse than she’d originally thought, and smudges of dust and dirt were all over, including on her ass. Her shoes were scuffed to hell. Her makeup was smudged all over her face. She herself was covered in dirt and scratches and two of her nails were broken. 

She’d never been so humiliated in all her life. Bonnie cried into her hands. _Shit, now my makeup will look even worse!_ She couldn’t stand to be there another minute. 

“What was I thinking, coming on a date with Kai Parker? We’re from two totally different worlds, and Kai is, well, Kai. He didn’t even have the presence of mind not to bring me to a function like this looking like something the cat dragged in. This was a mistake.”

She told Kai so. 

“You’re gonna leave, just like that? I thought-“

“What? That we were having a connection? That you were charming me with all the weird shit you had me doing today? What are we doing here, Kai? This would never work. Those people were humiliating me and you didn’t even notice.”

“I know they’re assholes. They love to treat people like that.”

“So you noticed, then? That makes it even worse! You didn’t stand up for me. You knew how they were going to treat me and you brought me anyway, looking worse than I would if I was going to the corner store. You should have known better than to bring common little Officer Bennett to a rich person’s party like that. They made it clear I wasn’t welcome.”

“They judge people anyway. They would have judged you even if you wore a $20,000 outfit, but it doesn’t matter. I don’t care what those people think.”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better? You bringing me to a place where no matter what I did people were automatically going to look down on me? Of course _you_ don’t care! You’re Kai Parker. You don’t care about anything except yourself. You don’t care about how I feel at all. You just used me as a buffer against your boredom and to piss everybody off. Did you think that was cute? Did you have fun trotting me out in front of your little girlfriend? They belittled my job, which I happen to love. They called me trash. Look at me, I look like trash!”

He opened his mouth to reply, but she cut him off. 

“That girl, did you hear what she said? She said I was your plaything, and that you’d be back.”

Kai put his hands on her shoulders. “You have to know that you’re not a plaything.”

“But you’ve been with her, though.” His silence spoke volumes. She shook his hands off. It was time for her to go. 

 

 

“Yes, she’s a part of my past. But that’s just it, she’s in the past. Just a blip on the radar. She doesn’t matter to me.”

“The way I’ll be cast aside in a couple weeks when you get bored with me?”

“There’s nothing boring about you, Bonnie Bennett. There’s no one else like you in the world. I didn’t want to embarrass you. I wanted to show you and every one else how proud I am to be with you, even if your dress is torn and your heel is broken. I never meant to make you into a pawn.” Bonnie wished that made it better. 

“Well, that’s not how it felt. It hurt to have those people judge me. It hurts to know that you intentionally subjected me to it. This entire night has been a mistake. I’ve lied, cheated, I’ve broken the law multiple times, and I’m a police officer. I went against who I am. I’m tired, I’m scraped, my hair and my outfit is ruined-which by the way, is the only one I own for special occasions. We can’t all afford Tom Ford like you. This is the last straw. This date is over. I gave you your chance and you blew it.”

She was disappointed. She was hoping he would wow her, blow her away. It was just like she thought. She shouldn’t have gotten her hopes up. She limped away on her now-crooked heels.

“You’re really leaving?”

“What does it look like? You couldn’t have been an unselfish, mature adult for one night, just one night of your life.”

“Okay Bon, you want honesty?” His voice behind her stopped her in her tracks. She didn’t turn though.

“Yes, I do.”

“I don’t really like my dad.”

That was heavy. She turned, looked to him, waited for him to continue. Where was he going wit this? 

“I mean, I love him, even though sometimes I wish I could turn it off. He’s not a good person. Everything he represents is a facade. He was…heavy-handed with his discipline, but not very generous with praise or affection. So I have a juvey record because I used to act out. I’m not telling you this because want you to feel sorry for me. I did bad things. Set fires, stole things I didn’t need. I beat a few people up. Sometimes I enjoyed what I did. I knew it was wrong and I knew it was hurting people, but I did it anyway because I wanted them to be in pain, too. I’m not proud of that. 

I just so happen to be the son of the governor, so instead of juvey I got a slap on the wrist and a fancy job and education. I don’t deserve any of it.” He took a deep breath and continued.

“They way I act…the jokes, the irreverence, the extravagance, the, uh, women…it’s my coping mechanism. A lot of times I don’t know when to turn it off, and people tolerate it, even if they don’t like it. I get away with being rude and inconsiderate and selfish because most people want to spend time with me because I make a lot of money, or because they want to use me for a connection to my dad, or because of my party boy reputation. They aren’t like you. You’re the only person in my life who’s honest with me, and doesn’t spend time with me because you’re after something I’ve got. You’re not going to stick around through my bullshit like my desperate so-called friends and these air-headed girls. It’s new, and I guess I couldn’t figured out the right way to handle it.”

She shook her head at him, mournfully. It was all too much.

“I don’t blame you if you don’t want to see me again. I just wanted you to know.” He turned away and let her go. Back into the party he went. 

Stunned, that’s what she felt about his revelation. She wasn’t thrilled about the shitty person he’d been in his early life, but she admired that he had turned things around, and that he was upfront with her about his issues. He didn’t have to share such intimate secrets with her, but he did. 

 Still, she’d seen enough of Malachai Parker. Enough of his personal problems. Even if he was adventurous and fun and charming and kept her on her toes. Even if he had gotten her out of her head for a night. Even if he had melted her when he told people they were married and kissed her like they really were madly in love. 

He still was a rich, womanizing playboy who thought only of himself. 

She took two more steps and cursed. Her clutch was on the bathroom sink. She couldn’t just leave it. It had her badge, ID, car keys, everything. 

She crept in, keeping to the covered portico-style walkway at the rear of the room. It was that point that she saw Kai hop up on stage. 

He slammed his palm on the microphone’s black fuzzy end, the booming noise echoing around the room, making people wince. 

“May I have your attention please, you pack of posers and soulless vultures. You all insulted my beautiful, gracious date tonight. I am not very happy about it. We all know what happens when I’m not happy.” He was smiling his dangerous smile, and he winked at them. Bonnie knew enough to know his tantrums were a thing of legend. A middle-aged man in a suit visibly shuddered. 

“Let me tell you about my lovely date that you tired fogeys were so quick to look down upon. She’s a pillar of our community. Hardworking and honest and dedicated and everything I’m not. Everything _you_ flakes are not. I was honored to bring her here tonight, because she’s not a hollow, empty shell draped in a thousand dollar dress. She has actual substance and a personality, and is worth spending time with, unlike you sorry lot. Ask yourself now who’s got class and who doesn’t.” 

“My chance with her is ruined. Mostly because I’m an asshole, and partly because of you miserable fucking buzzards. I won’t name any names, but rest assured you will feel the sting from both myself and my father’s office. Get on with your fake bullshit. Peace out, you bloodsucking scum.” 

He did a mic drop and jumped back down, daring any one of them to say something about it. She watched open-mouthed as he crossed the room, stopping in front of Vanessa. Bonnie couldn’t tell what he said to her, but it looked like something along the lines of “never again” as he pointed his index finger back and forth between them. She also thought she saw “don’t ever fucking talk about her like that…” but she couldn't see anything else. Vanessa’s face curled into an ugly snarl and her arm jerked like she wanted to throw her drink in his face. She thought better of it when she saw his expression. She stomped away in a tizzy. Bonnie couldn’t lie; it soothed her petty should to watch a hundred people get called out and made to look stupid because they’ insulted her. Especially that bitch Vanessa. 

Kai started forward again. Stopped when he saw her in front of him.

“Bonnie.” She stood there, in a shadowed doorway, watching him. “You heard what I said.” She nodded. Without a word she turned to go outside and he followed her. 

They sat on the steps of the parliament building. She took his hand, interlacing their fingers. Again, her delicate skin caught fire where it connected with his. 

“Thank you for standing up for me.”

“It took me long enough.”

“Yeah, it did. But in the end you did it, and you didn’t fuck around. I loved it, especially the look on Vanessa’s face!”

“You saw that?”

“I saw everything. Look, tonight…you pissed me off so many times, but it was an adventure. It was exciting. It was thrilling. I had the time of my life. If I’m being honest, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I just need you not to act like everything is a joke all the time. I love how much fun I have with you. I love how you pull me out of my own head, show me how to live. But you know what? You need balance, too. The Malachai Parker you are at work, the one who gets things done and handles his business, the one people respect and take seriously- well, mostly seriously.” She laughed thinking of how his coworkers gave him as much shit as he gave them. “The moral of the story is, I never want you to stop being fun and brave and funny and charming, I just want you to be a little more mature and considerate about it. If we’re going to do this-“ she motioned between the two of them- “Then you need to meet me halfway.”

Kai’s eyes shone with excitement. “Does that mean we’re doing this? We’re a ‘this’?”

“I don’t know yet. Maybe. Possibly. If you can get your head out of your ass.”

They stood up, and She put her arms around his shoulders, interlacing her fingers behind his neck. His arms went around her waist and held on tight. 

“You really wanted to show me off?”

“You’re special, Bonnie. I’d show you off to the frickin’ pope.” She threw back her head and laughed. Kai couldn’t resist placing a soft kiss on her neck. “I’m gonna buy you a new pair of shoes to replace the ones that got damaged.”

“That’s a good start.”

“A good start. I like the sound of that.”

Another kiss, this time a soft, slow peck on the lips.

“I could get used to this,” she whispered against his lips.

“Just wait ’til you see what I’ve got planned for date number two.”

Bonnie groaned through her smile. She didn’t bother to deny that she was down for date number two and everything that might come; she just kissed him again.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was a struggle, but I had so much fun writing this! I hope you all like reading it as much as I liked creating it. :D


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